KOTA KINABALU – Sabah leaders can remain ‘loud’ in demanding the state’s rights despite having only two cabinet members, said Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick.
The Penampang MP said he is now moving to unite all ministers and deputy ministers from Sabah.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali and Human Resources Deputy Minister Mustapha Sakmud, he said, have agreed to form the consensus group.
“Despite the small number, we (federal ministers and deputy ministers from Sabah) are determined to have a loud voice and more effective leadership. We don’t allow others to ‘bully’ Sabah,” he told The Vibes today.
Last Saturday, Benedick announced his plan to form a consensus group comprising federal ministers and deputy ministers from Sabah to champion the rights of the state’s residents.
He said the plan is running smoothly so far, adding that he expects an excellent working relationship with Armizan as they were both former political secretaries and have known each other for many years.
“He (Armizan) too knows that I have been voicing out about Sabah rights in the federal cabinet and I will continue to do so,” he added.
Last Monday, Armizan announced that a memorandum of Sabah and Sarawak demands, particularly concerning the Malaysia Agreement 1963, will be tabled in the cabinet early next month.
He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had given him and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof a month to collect stakeholder feedback, adding that the 40% revenue return, or special grant, is one of the most demanded matters so far.
Anwar had appointed seven deputy ministers from Sabah, including three from Barisan Nasional namely Beaufort MP Datuk Siti Aminah Aching (Plantation and Commodities Ministry), Kimanis MP Datuk Mohamad Alamin (Foreign Ministry), and Pensiangan MP Datuk Arthur Kurup (Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry).
The four other deputy ministers are DAP’s Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin (Agriculture and Food Security Ministry), PKR’s Sepanggar MP Mustapha Sakmud (Human Resources Ministry), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah’s Batu Sapi MP Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry) and Warisan’s Lahad Datu MP Datuk Yusof Apdal (Higher Education Ministry). –The Vibes, December 15, 2022.
